Pennsylvania § 583 - Appointment of interpreter.

§ 583. Appointment of interpreter.

(a) Appointment of certified interpreter.--Upon request, a presiding officer shall appoint a certified interpreter unless the certified interpreter is unavailable as provided in subsection (b).

(b) Appointment of otherwise qualified interpreter when certified interpreter is unavailable.--

(1) An otherwise qualified interpreter shall be appointed by a presiding officer if a good faith effort was made to obtain a certified interpreter and a certified interpreter was not reasonably available, as determined by the presiding officer.

(2) Prior to the appointment of an otherwise qualified interpreter, the presiding officer shall state on the record that to the best of the knowledge of the presiding officer, the otherwise qualified interpreter:

(i) is readily able to interpret;

(ii) is certified by the National Association for the Deaf, the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf or similar registry, to the best of the knowledge of the presiding officer; and

(iii) has read, understands and agrees to abide by the code of professional conduct for administrative proceeding interpreters for persons who are deaf, as established by the department.

(c) Additional interpreters.--After consideration of the length of the administrative proceeding, the special needs of the person who is deaf and the number of persons involved who are deaf, the presiding officer may appoint, as provided in subsections (a) and (b), an additional interpreter or provide for additional interpretation in a manner deemed appropriate by the presiding officer.